What She Would've Wanted
by PrincessofBadLuck
Summary: Lucrecia never wanted Vincent to live with guilt. She did not blame him for her poor choices or the mistakes he thought he made. No, she wanted him to be happy. Yuffentine.


Vincent sat alone in a quiet corner of Tifa's bar. The reason he was there was because today a certain ninja would be turning twenty. He sighed quietly to himself; lately Yuffie had been on his mind quite a bit. That was partly the reason he choose to isolate himself before her party. He wanted to think, not just of his past (which Yuffie called brooding) but about his future as well.

Cloud had asked him before whether sins could be forgiven. The thought shocked him; he never considered it. All Vincent knew of sin, was that it existed, and that one should repent for them. He never thought about forgiveness. So he gave Cloud his honest answer,

"I've never tried."

The fearless leader of AVALANCE nodded and before he left said,

"Well, I'm going to try, I'll phone in the verdict."

The blond never saw the smirk of amusement appear Vincent's face, nor the spark of hope that appeared in his eyes. After the defeat of Sephiroth yet again, the swordsman held true to his promise.

"Vincent." he's said once the gunman answered the phone.

"Hello Cloud, he replied, was there something you needed?"

"Actually, Cloud continued, I wanted to say I tried."

Vincent's brows rose at the comment, "Tried?"

"Yes, the blond responded, I tried to find out whether sins were ever forgiven."

The gunman didn't even realize he was holding his breath when he asked,

"And? What did you find?"

"Yes, Vincent, sins are forgiven."

He'd never forgotten that day. Cloud's finding had changed everything. It made him question beliefs he'd once held to. That he had sinned. That he needed to repent. That there was nothing after repentance. Sins were absolute. Something that did not and could not go away.

But Cloud's words changed that. They gave him hope. But most of all, they had the potential to free him, not only from the chains of his past, but from those he kept around himself. The chains that bound him to mourn for a love long lost. The ones that prevented him from ever reaching out to Yuffie, even though his heart desperately wanted to. Slowly, he'd felt those chains slip away until they no longer held him. Once the Omega incident blew over, he felt more certain. He felt…lighter, like a burden had been lifted. However, in its wake was still the shadow of doubt. Was pursuing the young ninja right? Would she even feel the same way?

A voice broke him out of his thoughts,

"Vincent Valentine."

He looked up and met the eyes of Shelke. He nodded in greeting. The young girl took the empty seat beside him.

"You are thinking of doctor Crescent, are you not?"

Vincent was a bit startled, but didn't show it,

"Among other things."

She nodded as if expecting his answer.

"She would not have wanted that," she stated bluntly.

He blinked in surprise,

"What?"

Shelke turned to face him,

"Lucrecia did not want herself to be something that caused you pain or held you back."

She shifted her gaze to the ceiling,

"Before the WRO removed her consciousness from my mind, she wanted me to tell you something."

Shelke gazed at Vincent solemnly,  
"She wanted you to be happy. She was sorry that when she left you intending to keep you from harm, that she did the opposite. She wanted you to be able to move on with your life, free from guilt."

Her lip twitched,

"And she hoped that one day you'd find a new love, but, she grinned at him, you already have, haven't you?"

Vincent stared at her, how had she known?

Shelke stood up, "Yuffie Kisaragi is coming soon, she looked back at him, tell her how you feel."

She started walking away, "It is what she would've wanted."

And for the first time in many years, Vincent Valentine smiled. So sins really are forgiven he thought as he heard the door to the bar burst open,

"Hey guys! The Great Ninja Yuffie is here!"

_This thought came to me before I was about t go to bed. Haha, so I decided to write it out. Even though I disliked Lucrecia simply because she was so weak and foolish, I know that at heart she wanted to do good. Too bad the plan back fired and she almost got the man she loved killed and unleashed a psychopath onto the world…Ahem. I really should be working on the Legend of the White Rose, but what can I say? It's summertime! I'm feeling pretty lazy. But never fear! I will finish it! Oh, and I'm going on a family vacation on Sunday and will be gone for 10 days. So don't think I've disappeared. It'd be nice if I saw some more reviews once I get home. ;]_


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